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President Donald Trump lashed out Monday morning against two of America’s top international trading partners, attacking Canada for its treatment of U.S. farmers and demanding that Mexico do more to stop the cross-border flow of narcotics.

Trump also suggested that Canada and Mexico could avoid forthcoming tariffs if they agree to a renegotiated trade deal.

“We have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Massive relocation of companies & jobs. Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum will only come off if new & fair NAFTA agreement is signed,” Trump wrote on Twitter Monday in a pair of posts. “Also, Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dying.”

Tend to agree he is bluffing but I think more importantly he was just thinking of say to change the subject.

According to NBC:

Trump was angry and ‘unglued’ when he started a trade war, officials say

WASHINGTON — With global markets shaken by President Donald Trump's surprise decision to impose strict tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, the president went into battle mode on Friday: "Trade wars are good, and easy to win," he wrote on Twitter.

But the public show of confidence belies the fact that Trump's policy maneuver, which may ultimately harm U.S. companies and American consumers, was announced without any internal review by government lawyers or his own staff, according to a review of an internal White House document.

According to two officials, Trump's decision to launch a potential trade war was born out of anger at other simmering issues and the result of a broken internal process that has failed to deliver him consensus views that represent the best advice of his team.

On Wednesday evening, the president became "unglued," in the words of one official familiar with the president's state of mind.

A trifecta of events had set him off in a way that two officials said they had not seen before: Hope Hicks' testimony to lawmakers investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, conduct by his embattled attorney general and the treatment of his son-in-law by his chief of staff.

Trump, the two officials said, was angry and gunning for a fight, and he chose a trade war, spurred on by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Peter Navarro, the White House director for trade — and against longstanding advice from his economic chair Gary Cohn and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Ross had already invited steel and aluminum executives to the White House for an 11 a.m. meeting on Thursday. But Ross, according to a person with direct knowledge, hadn't told the White House who the executives were. As a result, White House officials were unable to conduct a background check on the executives to make sure they were appropriate for the president to meet with and they were not able to be cleared for entry by secret service. According to a person with direct knowledge, even White House chief of staff John Kelly was unaware of their names.

Or simply he was in a bad mood and this is what we get. When you think about it that way then it makes some sense. Fly off the handle, divert attention from whatever, calm down and change position all in 72 hours.

Or simply he was in a bad mood and this is what we get. When you think about it that way then it makes some sense. Fly off the handle, divert attention from whatever, calm down and change position all in 72 hours.

“In 2002, the action was clearly immediate and aggressive to both protect and retaliate,” a European steel industry executive familiar with EU deliberations said. “They’re being much more careful now, and that’s probably a reasonable thing—you can always build aggression later. We have the tools, we are prepared to use them.

Republican lawmakers on Monday pressured President Trump to reverse course on his plan to impose steep tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum, arguing it threatens the U.S. economy and GOP majorities in Congress.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has lobbied Trump to reconsider the tariffs by sharing his concerns personally with the president “on multiple occasions,” according to his office.

“We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong said in a statement. “The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize those gains.”

The House Ways and Means Committee also jumped into the fight, drafting a letter urging Trump to narrowly tailor the tariffs so that they only affect unfairly traded products. Members are in the process of collecting more signatures before sending the letter to the White House, according to a committee aide.

“The president has not made a final decision yet,” said Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who spoke with Trump twice last week. “I am continuing to reach out to the White House and the trade team … I want to continue to stay at the table to help him tailor this.”

You know your actions is going to reduce Fosters import to the US and then someone got to drink that swill.

We'll give it to the Sth Africans or the Canadians. Castle, Labatt's & Molson's are all pretty dire.

Of course, if that is too scary there are more dramatic alternatives. I live 100 meters from the place where most Fosters is brewed. If you happened to know someone trained in the use of explosives I am a quick learner. :-D

If the GOP were serious about standing up to Trump they needed to establish that pattern in the first 6 months. They are stuck with him now. Their voters like him more than they like Congress. I'm not convinced this will go ahead as announced (it is Trump after all), but it won't be because the GOP talk him around.

Of course, if that is too scary there are more dramatic alternatives. I live 100 meters from the place where most Fosters is brewed. If you happened to know someone trained in the use of explosives I am a quick learner. :-D

If anything were to happen to the Foster's supply, aren't you afraid the Foster's drinkers would drink up the supply of good beer and leave you high and dry?

For some reason this has made me think of Labatt Blue, the mass market Canadian swill we see a lot of in my home state.

Which further brought to mind a little jingle I thought up one day and sang while I was on an excursion in the boundary waters a few years ago.

Baby let's make a run for the border
I got a hunger only poutine can stop
I know exactly what I'll order
Two poutine, moose ribs and a Blue Labatt
Ehhh, don't forget the gravy, Canuck

Gary Cohn is resigning as National Economic Council director amid a battle over tariffs within the Trump administration, the White House said Tuesday.

"It has been an honor to serve my country and enact pro-growth economic policies to benefit the American people, in particular the passage of historic tax reform," Cohn said in a statement provided by the White House. "I am grateful to the President for giving me this opportunity and wish him and the Administration great success in the future."

Cohn, who left his post as president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs to join the White House in 2017, had urged Trump not to impose steep tariffs. He was widely seen as likely to exit after Trump announced plans to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports.